


Love includes Sacrifice

by FateAwaits



Category: Las Chicas del Cable | Cable Girls
Genre: Angst, Arranged Marriage, Declarations Of Love, Drama & Romance, F/F, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Jealousy, Late 1920s, Multi, Sacrifice, Suffragettes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-11
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-07-11 00:31:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15960875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FateAwaits/pseuds/FateAwaits
Summary: If Sara didn't have the information that released her from prison, that night may have been the last of Carlota's life.Set towards the end of season 1 episode 6.





	1. The Best Course

**Author's Note:**

> Las Chicas de Cable has become one of the best shows I have ever seen in a matter of days! There isn't enough in this fandom so I thought I'd give it a go hehe. This is my first fic so let me know what you think! It will be canon for the first few parts.

Carlota sighed deeply before her throat constricted with unshed tears. She gazed at the two people she loved the most on the bed and wondered if she'd ever be able to be with them again. She had no choice but to do this. She had to go back.

Back to following orders blindly like a soldier.

Back to complete obedience. 

And this time, she couldn't rebel because she knew what was on the line. 

Sara was like a breath of fresh air, and the blonde was convinced that her return would be worth it if it meant that the woman she loved would be free from that awful prison. God knows what would happen if she didn't do this. Especially since Sara had put herself in danger to save Carlota at the Lyceum.

Now it was her turn to put Sara first.

Slowly, Carlota put on her dress, wanting to cherish the last few moments of her free life. She retrieved the letter she had wrote for them and looked it over. 

 

_Sara and Miguel,_

_By the time you read this, I will be back home with my family._

_Miguel, there are not many men like you, I feel so lucky to have spent the past two years being with you and loving you. The hard times we went through together only made us stronger._

_Sara. You have taught me so much in the small time we've known each other. I am so sorry for running and leaving you that night. It is the biggest mistake of my life. Forgive me._

_Know I love you both dearly which is why I must do this. It is the best course for us all._

_Love,_

_Carlota._

 

Tears started pricking at her eyes once more and a few escaped before she could will them away. This was it. With one final glimpse at the sleeping pair, she softly placed the letter next to Sara where they would find it come awakening.

Then she strode towards the door and opened it. A pause as she steeled herself. 

Here we go. 

 

 


	2. Cold Absence

A few hours later, Miguel stirred awake. He was too groggy to notice Carlota was not lying on the bed - never mind the envelope on the other side of the bed - and went straight to the shower. The movement and the shuffling sounds woke Sara up. She stretched and turned over, hearing a rustle. She felt a foreign object jab at her side.

It was now that she felt the cold of Carlota’s absence.

Sara sat up and found the object – the envelope. Confused, she opened it tentatively. As Sara continued to read the words, a heavy feeling settled right in her chest. Then, anger.

She couldn’t believe that the younger woman would do this, and her emotions bubbled over. Questions raced through her mind because she knew that the family Carlota went back to didn’t give a shit about her if it meant that their social position and the public opinion of them would be put in jeopardy.

“Miguel!” Sara nearly tripped on the fallen duvet as she rushed into the bathroom to tell the man of the disappearing act. Sara rudely opened the shower curtain to reveal Miguel in the nude, but this was no time for modesty after the night they shared.

“Read this, Miguel. Read it!” She shoved the letter in his face.

Miguel turned off the shower, and with hands still wet, read it. “But how … But she fought so hard to get away from them …” He muttered to himself, frowning.

“What do we do?” asked Sara, pacing. “We have to get her back. Miguel, we both love her, and she loves us. We can’t let her family destroy her. Her independence, her will and her fire. She won’t survive it.”

Miguel looked numb, like he was trying to conceal his pain. What, after all, would he do without his anchor? But Sara, having looked up briefly after her rant, saw right through it and gave him a hug.

“Sara … Ca – Carlota - if she’s taught me anything since I met her, it’s how to be strong in the face of adversity. We must be strong for her. We cannot be rushing into things. Her father is a powerful man, so we need to have a plan. We will get her back, Sara, I promise you. Just like I promised her, and myself, that we would get you back.”

Another ache panged through the woman.

“Okay.”

Now that she was calm, the contents of the letter struck her and suddenly, she couldn’t stop thinking of the portion that was addressed to her.

 

_‘Biggest mistake of my life. Forgive me’._

 

_‘Forgive me’._

 

Everything began to make sense to Sara now. It made sense to her that the selfless blonde would blame herself and would think that this was the only way to save them.

This time, a different kind of pain wrenched through Sara’s hopeful little heart.

 

 


	3. A Couple's Witness

Miguel was glad that they were doing something to try and see Carlota, but he wished that he was the one outside her window waiting for the distraction to occur. He understood that the two women have more things in common. For one, he was a man and he hadn’t experienced first hand what it was like to a woman: to be viewed as the inferior sex, to always be at a disadvantage. And two, he worked in a different department at the telephone company. So, he really did understand that they would be closer in a short amount of time. He did.

Despite this, something inside him tugged the wrong way.

He loved both of them, maybe Sara a little less so because of Carlota’s diverted attention but loved them nevertheless. So, it was a surprise to Miguel that he found himself replacing Sara in her hiding spot once she slipped inside the bedroom after the parents were distracted by him. He didn’t intend to eavesdrop – it wasn’t the plan, after all – but as much as he wanted to see and touch Carlota again, this was a valuable time to gain some more insight to their relationship.

“Carlota don’t worry.” Sara seemed calmer than he had heard her since finding out.

“Sara?!” Miguel didn’t realise how much he missed the blonde’s voice till now. “What are you doing here?”

“I cannot believe you have done this, cariño. I do not need to forgive you for running at the Lyceum, but this … I cannot forgive myself if you stay here.”

Miguel peered through the small gap in the curtain and found them stood very close to each other, almost in an embrace. The pair staring at each other so intensely. Miguel’s logical side argued that it was normal for them to be comforting each other any way they can. It was okay, for now.

“I thought you, of all people, would respect my decision.”

“I would if I knew that you were doing this because you truly wanted to. But you do not need to blame yourself for my imprisonment. It was truly not your fault. You do not need to suffer for me.”

The hidden figure frowned, wondering what the older woman meant. Miguel, in his haze that morning, did not take much notice of the portion of the letter meant for Sara, but now he wished he did.

“Sara, you don’t understand. The raid at the Lyceum was my fault. My father had ordered the police to do it. It was him trying to make me return home and well, he was successful.”

“There must be some other way, we’ll think of a different way. I can look after myself, Carlota. You do not need to do this. Please, cariño, come back to me. Come back to us.”

Miguel noted that she said ‘to me’ instead of ‘us’ first. But more importantly, he was strongly deliberating if he should come out and enforce what Sara had said to convince her further. But he didn’t because deep down, he knew it would be pointless.

“I know my father, Sara, and he will not stop. I’m sorry.”

Defeated, Miguel saw the older woman sigh and close her eyes, as if trying to block out what she had just heard. He watched as Carlota caressed her cheek, and lean in.

Miguel swiftly left, deciding not to watch any longer. The only indication of his presence was a slight movement of the curtains, which could have been passed off as the breeze outside.

During his departure, Miguel could not help but think that they looked good together. Just the two of them.


	4. Distasteful Agreement

Ever since her departure from the two people she loved, Carlota wasn’t the same. Where there was a spark in her eyes at the thought of independence and freedom, there was now a sadness and hesitation … and perhaps just a hint of anger behind them. An outspoken and righteous woman had left their house and what returned was merely a shell. Her mother noticed – hell, even her father did.

Her mother tried to be the peacemaker and be there for her daughter and simultaneously support her husband, but it was difficult when the two of them saw things from such different perspectives. Needless to say that Carlota’s teenage years were something short of a nightmare. In all honestly, Analisa felt some relief when her husband kicked Carlota out. Her daughter deserved to live the life she wanted – to be free and independent – even if it was only for a while.

So when her mother found out about the lengths he took to bring her back, Analisa was internally fuming because God forbid she openly contradict her husband. From then on, she did her best to show her anger through subtle means. Like making his least favourite meals, making him do his own ironing and whatever else she felt was satisfactory (and appropriate).

The news she was about to hear for the first time, however, would send her strong feelings to the tipping point.

“I have arranged for a bright young man to come to dinner tomorrow. I expect you can handle the arrangements?”

“Of course, and dare I ask who this man is?”

“His name is Jorge Garcia. He will be here to settle … a matter.”

“And what matter?”

Don Emilio sighed, reluctant to tell his wife, but knew he couldn’t escape it. “The purpose of this dinner is for him to meet Carlota and for them to get to know each other a bit more. He is the son of my good friend, Marcos, and we have both come to an agreement.”

“Wait you made this arrangement without telling me? Without telling her? How much more interfering with your daughter’s life until you are content? You have taken her independence and now you will take over her relationship? This is not right, Emilio, I do not agree to this. Carlota has a boyfriend – Miguel Pascual – an engineer at the telephone company. I hear they are still together.”

She waited as her husband cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I am aware, yes. But Miguel does not have a good background. He has a dark past and I am afraid that it will catch up to him and drag our daughter down with him. He cannot be with her.”

“No Emilio, I will not support this. The dark past you say Miguel has? Well, who hasn’t got one? Carlota tells me she was there through it all with him and it made them stronger for it. She loves him You, of all people, who has been through hell and back, should know this. I will not be privy to this controlling of her relationships.”

“It is done, Analisa. He will come tomorrow, and she is never to see Miguel Pascual again.”

“If you go through with this, I will do everything in my power to stop it.” Analisa could not stand the sight of him anymore and strode out of the room. The next words Don Emilio yelled after her, barely resonated with her.

“You are still my wife, Analisa. And you will support my decisions!”


	5. Accusatory

When Sara got back from Carlota’s house Miguel was in an armchair, smoking. She saw his pallid, almost grey, face and they both knew he didn’t look good.

“Really, Miguel? Drugs?”

“Not now, Sara. Please.”

“Carlota would not want you acting this way, Miguel. What happened to being strong in the face of adversity?” Sara probed, trying not to sound judgemental.

“You cannot say that to me Sara, you do not know me, nor I you.” His voice was low, and Sara wondered if it was just Carlota’s absence that was making him act out or something else. And suddenly he was out of the armchair and walking towards her, eyes red. “Yes, we shared a night of passion, and it was amazing. But that does not automatically mean that I trust you yet. You do not know what Carlota and I have been through, you’ve only been here for two seconds and you’ve wrapped her around your finger, and suddenly she can drop everything – including me – for your freedom. She hasn’t done what’s best for all of us, she’s done what’s best for you!”

Sara was frozen in place. How was she meant to respond to that? She already felt guilty for the situation but now was not the time for the two of them to fight when Carlota needed them both to be a united pair.

Miguel took another drag of his cigarette, and blew the smoke in Sara’s face, perhaps in provocation. Sara didn’t react. She just stood her ground.

“What do you have that I don’t?” he asked staring at her eyes.

She sadly stared right back. “She doesn’t love you any less than she loves me, Miguel.”

Miguel chuckled darkly. “Doesn’t she?” With that said, he stepped back and stumbled out of the apartment picking up his coat on the way.

“Where are you going?” Sara called after him.

It was a few seconds before she heard a reply.

“Away.”

The woman stared around the room, feeling like it was forever ago since they had all been happy … since they were all together. She felt that it was unfair – almost selfish – of Miguel to act out this way when their trapped lover needed their combined help, especially without proof.

She wondered where he got the idea from, because she certainly felt it was the other way around – that Carlota loved him more, or rather that she showed it more. With social biases and prejudices, Carlota was always watching over her shoulder whenever the two women were together intimately. Secret stolen kisses were exciting for a while but there comes a point when you want to tell the whole world of your love. But, how could they? It was easy for Miguel and Carlota because he was the ‘official’ boyfriend and there was nothing to be frowned upon. Sara considered him to be very lucky to be able to show his love so publicly. It was a man’s world unfortunately.

A quick rap on the door shook Sara out of her inner ramblings and she went to open it. She didn’t expect Analisa Rodrigues de Senillosa to be on the other side.


End file.
